Surival of the Fittest

11.30.2010

I have come to the conclusion that I have been very lucky. I rarely have to travel to see family.... Which means that on days like Thanksgiving I have been able to marvel at travel horror stories. To be honest, I sometimes questioned the accuracy of the stories and wondered if perhaps better planning could have helped my friends/coworkers/colleagues.

Having made it through the traveling experience (NYC to Boston and back) in one piece, I feel like I can actually comment on this experience now. To be clear, I only went through Penn Station but that was pretty bananas. I saw couples fighting, luggage falling, babies strapped to parents, and news crews there to film it all. See I even took a picture as evidence ....

Sorry it's just of the news guy not the many many couples falling apart over Which track number they should be lining up for. I'm not perfect. I know this. Hell, the people that see my Sunday traveling outfit probably think I'm homeless... Until I take out my iPad that is.

But during my Thanksgiving trip home I decided to keep a list of all the things I found annoying about my fellow passengers.

cellphone conversations that last through more than one state.

immediate friendships with fellow seatmates. I'm not jealous of your friendship. You can keep it - but I really don't want to hear you swapping life stories as she praises you for opening her new headphones clam-shell case with your teeth. Not special

bananas. I don't even need to say anything else.

respect for the line. I would love to know what goes through peoples minds when tracks numbers are announced or the train arrives and the doors open. I was clearly in front of you and so were the 8 grandmas you pushed out of the way.

seat holding. There was a particularly bold woman on my trip back to NYC that held an extra seat for her 2nd blackberry and XXX vitamin water despite the fact that it was a SOLDOUT train. It's one thing to just put your stuff there but a whole other thing to lie and say the seat is taken. Karma is a bitch lady.

smelly food. Yep, I know that I already wrote bananas but this happened more than once so you are going to read about it more than once.

So you don't think I am a cold, heartless wench of a 20-something. I have also made a short list of a few things that are totally okay with me.

parents coordinating with children ... Especially when the kids are responsible for picking up the parents

bringing a near excessive amount of loved ones to the train station to say goodbye